


World is round

by Builder



Series: Whoa Bessie [23]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Established Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Steve Rogers, Sickfic, Trans Steve Rogers, War Veteran Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22324402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Builder/pseuds/Builder
Summary: Steve breathes in and out slowly.  “You don’t look like you’re feeling very good.”James scowls, his brows knitting together.“i mean, you’re mine, and I love you, but–”“I don’t feel very good,” James says decisively.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: Whoa Bessie [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/892050
Comments: 2
Kudos: 55





	World is round

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @builder051

James wakes to an empty bed and the smell of pancakes. He groans and rolls over, wishing this wasn’t destined to be a challenge of a weekend. Friday had been hard enough, with therapy to the end of the earth, then dinner out. It had been past midnight when he and Steve had finally turned in. It shouldn’t be anything special for a pair of thirty-somethings, but for James, it’s a stretch. He still gets tired around 8:30, not that he tells anyone. Sometimes he even neglects to tell Steve.

James reaches clumsily for his hearing aids and jams them in, wincing as the ear molds scrape on the way into his canals. After the warm-up beeps fade out, he can hear Steve whistling in the kitchen. Of course he’s cheerful this morning, and of course James isn’t.

Hiking. That’s what they’re supposed to be doing today. Sam’s coming, so it’s technically PT, even though it’s just a fun thing to do with friends. That’s how Steve had sold it, anyway. James rolls to the edge of the bed, loath to leave the specialty foam and gel mattress pad. Sam had recommended it for James’s aches and pains, so of course Steve had bought it for them. He’d looked a sight, starfish-ing his body over top of it as he tried to attach the clips to the bottom of the mattress. James had gotten a good laugh, and now he usually gets a good night’s sleep. Except on nightmare nights, of course. Even Prazosin can’t save him from those.

James wonders if Sam prescribed the hiking, too. It would be so like Sam to make him do some new, supposedly interesting activity, claiming leg press had gotten old and James had gotten too good at it. James likes leg press, though. It has a rhythm. A cadence. A certain way of doing it that’s right, and that’s it. He thinks about the up and the down and nothing else. If he goes hiking, he might start thinking about a tree, or a fleck of dirt, or–

“Buck?” Steve taps on the wall outside the open door, then pokes his head an inch inside. 

James tries not to start. He sits up straighter and fights the urge to yank the comforter up over his lap. It’s not like he’s indecent in his boxers, not in front of Steve. He is cold, though.

“Coffee and pancakes?” Steve leans in enough for James to see his smile.

It should be enticing. It really should. James’s stomach feels acidic and uninviting, though. His choice to join the army had cut short the years of college partying, but he clearly recalls the heavy, hazy feel of a body sick after a night of over imbibing the good stuff.

James shakes his head, just a little. Just enough to make his hair swing in slightly greasy waves around his face. 

“No?” Steve’s face falls. Just a bit. Then his smile returns, though smaller. Tighter. He comes around the door and stands just inside, leaving plenty of space between them. “What’s up? You ok?”

James sighs. “I just…” he starts, halfway hoping Steve will fill in the blanks and tell him how he’s feeling, since James is having a hard time knowing himself. “I don’t…”

“Not hungry?” Steve guesses. He walks to the bed and sits gently on the corner of the mattress.

“Yeah, that’s…” That’s part of it, for sure. 

“Not feeling so good?” Steve brings a hand up to feel James’s forehead. He leaves it there for a moment, then pushes James’s hair back to cup his cheek. “You’re a little warm, but you just woke up, so…” Steve trails off with a shrug.

“Yeah. I don’t know.”

Steve breathes in and out slowly. “You don’t look like you’re feeling very good.”

James scowls, his brows knitting together.

“i mean, you’re mine, and I love you, but–”

“I don’t feel very good,” James says decisively.

There’s a beat of silence. “Ok.” Steve locks eyes with him. Looks into him. Looks almost through him. He nods slightly, then puts on a sympathetic smile. “Ok.”

“I don’t wanna make you–today–like–” The words come out of James’s mouth in a jumble, interspersed with nausea and too much spit.

“It’s ok,” Steve assures. “There’s nothing wrong with cancelling. Rescheduling. Pancakes can keep till tomorrow.”

James swallows. “Ok.”

“Ok.” Steve nods. “Ok.”


End file.
